


Chicken and Stars

by pervinca



Category: Community
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-27
Updated: 2013-01-27
Packaged: 2017-11-27 02:11:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/656926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pervinca/pseuds/pervinca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sickfic fluff starring Troy and Abed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chicken and Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my beta, biohazardgirl!
> 
> Someday I will figure out how to choose titles and write summaries properly. Today is not that day.

“Annie?” Troy called, a pitiful whine in his voice. Annie held back an eyeroll and peeked into the blanketfort acting as sickbay. Troy and Abed had piled all of the blankets, sheets, and pillows not already used in the structure of Abed's room onto the floor, and had buried themselves within. They lay on their backs, side by side, blankets pulled up to their necks. A ring of used tissues effectively acted as a barrier so that she stepped no closer. It was finals prep week – she couldn't afford to get sick!

“Could you make us more soup?” Abed asked, not sounding nearly as close to death as Troy, despite being the first to get ill. He did look pretty clammy, however, which brought up the unpleasant question of when the last time either of them had showered.

“Chicken with stars!” Troy added, as if he hadn't been specifying the type of noodle in his soup all weekend. “Stars are better... Abed is better....” Troy's mutterings trailed off as he shut his eyes. Abed watched him, eyes soft.

Annie couldn't hide her confusion. “Did he just go crazy and fall asleep?” Abed shot her finger guns of approval, and belatedly she recognized her own Firefly reference.

“Troy was remembering my character summary as proposed by Jeff when we formed the study group,” Abed explained, still staring at Troy. Annie sighed in fond exasperation at all of her boys.

“One pot of chicken and stars coming up.” She turned to leave, then stopped, whipping around and pointing at Troy and Abed, although only Abed was conscious. “I'm studying hospital administration, _not_ nursing!”

Abed nodded dutifully. They had had this conversation two times already this weekend. Annie periodically liked to point out her lack of medical training, as if it would stop them from making requests of her. Obviously she was still bitter Abed didn't listen when she told him singing in the rain would make him catch a cold, and Troy didn't listen when she told him _not_ to cuddle up with the sick person. Too late to do any more damage, now Annie approved of the boys being inseparable, because she figured shared body heat could help alleviate their chills. With one last look at her boys, Annie slipped out of the blanketfort, leaving a sleeping Troy and watchful Abed to wallow in their sickness.

When he was ill, Troy dozed a lot and wheezed while he did so, due to nasal congestion. Abed watched the blankets they shared rise and fall rhythmically, and absorbed every minute detail of Troy's appearance – the length of his eyelashes, the curve of his cheek, the slight parting of his lips. All so familiar by now, yet endlessly fascinating. Abed preferred Troy awake and animated (but not in a cartoon way, in a skin-and-bones, smiling-and-looking-at-Abed way). He called Troy's name in what he thought was a gentle and loving tone, hoping Troy would resurface from his resting state with slow blinks and a sleepy smile in Abed's direction.

Troy woke with an abrupt start, making a strange cough-snort. Abed's mouth turned up at the end in reassurance as Troy looked around wildly, temporarily unsure where he was. Quickly he calmed again, wriggling farther into Abed's side. He sighed contentedly, enjoying the warmth soaking into his left side and the arm he threw over Abed's slim chest. Turning his head, he spoke to Abed's neck.

“Why are you so warm?” Troy watched Abed's pulse, deeply satisfied to see Abed's blood pumping so steadily. Abed made an abortive shrug, momentarily jostling Troy.

“I probably have a fever,” he said matter-of-factly. Troy's brow knitted in concern.

“That's bad. Do I have a fever?” Troy tilted his head up to look at Abed. After a pause in which Abed recalled what his mother would do to check his temperature, he leaned forward to rest his lips on Troy's up-turned forehead. The concerned wrinkled smoothed beneath his lips, and Abed closed his eyes in concentration. Troy hummed to himself unconsciously.

An indeterminable time later, Abed pulled away. Troy opened his eyes, which had closed without his volition. Troy was smiling and he didn't know why. 

“I don't think you have a fever, although your skin is very warm,” Abed stated, seemingly unfazed. Troy continued to smile dopily.

“Is that how you tell temperature? Maybe I should check yours.” Abed watched him passively as Troy shifted to reach Abed's forehead. Troy licked his lips, realized what he was doing, and then wiped them hastily with his hand. His pursed lips met Abed's heated skin and rested lightly. Unsure if there was more to it than that, Troy concentrated on the feel of Abed's skin against his lips. Soft, slightly moist, and very warm. When he pulled away, Troy licked his lips, tasting the salty tang of sweat. “You're really hot but not, like, death-hot.”

Abed was staring at him, eyes dark. Troy smiled down at him hesitantly, still propped on his right elbow.

“If our positions were reversed, now would be the time when I would kiss you,” Abed said, voice inscrutable. Troy gaped at him for a moment as his brain processed the explosion of emotions that just occurred in his stomach-heart-dick.

“Yeah?” he breathed, his face attempting not to break into a thousand grinning pieces. Abed continued to stare up at him, big brown eyes as gentle and mysterious as ever. 

Troy considered his options. 

Then he leaned over Abed, bringing their faces close in slow and deliberate movements. Abed still wasn't closing his eyes, so Troy kept his open as well. He brushed Abed's cheek with the back of his left hand, and Abed's lips quirked. 

When their lips touched, it was movie magic perfect, soft skin, firm pressure, and no bumping noses. This was more likely due to Abed's experience than Troy's skills, but Troy couldn't care less. They stayed in that position for a long moment, reveling in the new sensations, until Troy regretfully tore his mouth away from Abed's sweet lips. 

“I can't breathe through my nose,” Troy explained, dropping his head on Abed's chest as he sucked in air. Abed's hand tentatively came to rest on Troy's back, then slipped into his short curly hair to scratch lightly as his scalp. Troy hummed again, but Abed squirmed under him, so he stopped. 

Abed's heart was racing. He breathed quietly through his mouth, refusing to let his half-blocked nose make a sound and ruin the mood, if there was a mood. It felt like an important scene, post-kiss and quiet.

Annie threw back the sheet comprising the door to the blanketfort, a steaming serving bowl and two spoons in her hands. She paused there, uncertain if she was interrupting. Troy sat up, an unreadable expression on his face. Abed folded himself into a sitting position as well, legs bent under the blankets.

“We might have fevers,” Troy said. Abed nodded absently. Annie stepped lightly around her enemies the soiled tissues and deposited the large bowl of soup and the spoons in Abed's lap – she had learned the hard way that Troy wiggled too much for open containers of liquids. She pressed the back of one hand against each boy's forehead as they stared up at her expectantly.

“I don't think the fever is very high, if you have one,” Annie said thoughtfully. She dropped her hands. “I'll bring more water. Finish your soup and rest!” Troy and Abed nodded obediently. Annie watched Abed hand Troy a spoon and blow on the soup, disrupting the calm of the broth and causing the tiny star-shaped noodles to churn. She turned to leave again.

“Thanks, Annie,” Troy said, voice warm with fondness. When she looked back, Abed gave her a small smile of gratitude. Annie grinned back before beating a hasty retreat from the infectious room.

Abed was still blowing on the soup with more concentration than was necessary. Troy watched him shyly, unsure of what Abed was feeling in regards to their kiss.

“So that was awesome?” Troy hadn't meant for it to be a question, but his voice was doing weird things because of his sore throat and congestion. Abed glanced at him, eyes wide and searching, so Troy leaned in to peck Abed lightly on one of his sharp cheekbones. “That. Kissing stuff. Awesome.”

Abed's smile was small, no teeth, but anyone familiar with his expressions could see the beaming happiness just under the surface. He placed a quick peck on Troy's cheek in return, making Troy grin.

They ate their soup in companionable silence, tangled together under the blankets.


End file.
